Fox Hunt
by TheNarator
Summary: Like any other group the ANBU have hazings, and this year a sadistic sempai has decided on a hunt. The quarry? The Leaf Village's least favorite jinchuriki, of course. Miseries from Naruto's past, clever skilled Naruto, pre-massacre Itachi, NOT YAOI!
1. Hunting Party

**Author's Note:** Because of course this is what you were all waiting for me to update, I have decided to post another miseries-from-Naruto's-past oneshot. This one gets kinda horrible, but the ending is nice. Naruto is very clever in this one, the beginnings of his adrenaline-induced-genius saving his ass once again. Plus, Itachi shows up and this is like, Naruto's first clue that he isn't a bad guy. Anyway, enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Hunting Party**

Naruto woke up in a sack. Somehow this didn't particularly surprise him. It wasn't that he was accustomed to being in sacks, in fact this was the first time he'd ever been in one. However the last thing he remembered was watching the parents of his three best friend guiding them home from the playground, leaving him all alone, and then turning around to see a woman in ANBU grade armor grinning evilly at him. With a sack.

Of course he'd tried to run away from her, experience had taught him not to stick around when people looked at him that way. That was why she'd felt it prudent to hit him over the head. Of course thanks to her ANBU grade gloves, backed with plates of metal, the blow had knocked him unconscious.

Hence, Naruto woke up in a sack.

The sack was abruptly upended, spilling the scrawny and disoriented six-year-old out onto the hard ground. He immediately scrambled upright, not really daring to stand but making sure he was at least sitting the right way up as he surveyed his surroundings. He was in a dirty, crumbling old room, cracks in every surface and part of the roof and one wall missing. It was dark, as he could see through the large double doors to his right, the actual doors of which appeared to have been torn out. Somewhere around a dozen people, all adults in the same ANBU grade attire that the woman who had taken him was in, stood around him, looking down at him with cold, cruel eyes. The same woman stood nearest him, a young looking thing with flawless pale skin and hair of a dull, off color that was maybe blue-gray, maybe light purple, or perhaps just dust-colored, in a bun that stuck up the tips at the back of her head, like a very small peacock tail. She was still holding the sack, looking down on him with that same sadistic grin.

"That's him, huh Tsubaki- taicho?" asked another woman, this one with short, wild hair and large teeth, her cheeks marked with red fang shapes like Naruto's friend Kiba from school. Around her stood three young men, all with fang markings and equally gruff appearances, a couple of vicious looking dogs at their feet.

"Yep," replied the first woman, apparently Tsubaki, tossing the sack aside. She pulled something from her pocket that Naruto couldn't see.

"He looks pathetic!" laughed someone to Naruto's left. He glanced around to see three people who looked vaguely familiar, though he was sure he'd never seen they themselves before. One was a man with his black hair in a high, spiky ponytail, a scar on his chin and a rather gruff look about him. Beside him was a woman with long blond hair, also in a ponytail but one that hung down her back, with light, hazy blue eyes that stared down at him with mocking disdain. Last was a heavy-set man with swirls on both his cheeks, looking down at Naruto with small, beady eyes set rather deeply into his pudgy face. It took Naruto a moment to realize why they were all familiar, then thought back to his friends Shikamaru and Choji, and a girl in his class he barely spoke to, called Ino. Those three children and these three adults looked eerily similar.

"The Kyuubi brat, really?!" laughed the woman who looked like Ino, her two companions snickering too, "He looks half-dead already, Tsubaki-taicho, are you sure you didn't play with him first?"

"Nah, I found him like that," Tsubaki insisted, "I'm leaving the fun to you rookies!"

Naruto swallowed hard, trying not to panic. He wasn't 100% sure what was going on, but he knew enough to know it was nothing good. He didn't ask questions, nor for help, since he knew neither answers nor assistance would be given. He knew when people called him "Kyuubi brat," they definitely weren't his allies, indeed they probably hated him. That coupled with the blond woman's reference to "playing with him" made him really scared of what was going to happen next. Still, he wasn't about to show it, and for the moment he kept quiet, looking at each person who spoke.

"Now then!" said Tsubaki, looking around at the congregation, "Here's the deal. We're going on a hunt, kiddies, and this here," she kicked at Naruto roughly, "is out prey."

Naruto stared at her in horror. She bent down to his level, still grinning evilly, and he tried to scuttle backwards only to be caught and held by the man behind him, a pale eyed, primly clothed thing with long dark hair and bandages over his forehead who had also bent down to hold Naruto still. Tsubaki gripped his chin, forcing his head to the side as she reached for him. For a moment he caught sight of what it was she'd been holding, a small red plastic rod attached to what looked like a fish hook, before he felt the sharp pain in his right ear. He bit his lip, forcing himself not to cry out as he felt her push the point of the fish hook through his earlobe, piercing his ear and hanging the red tag from his flesh.

"The team or ninja who brings the tag back wins bragging rights," Tsubaki continued, as though she weren't talking about something dangling from the ear of a six-year-old human child, "when the hunt is over and all of you have participated, you'll all be official members of the ANBU."

"We're already official members of the ANBU," droned a voice off to Naruto's left. He and Tsubaki both turned, to see a teenager with long dark hair and deep creases beneath his black eyes. He was by far the youngest one there, in fact Naruto wouldn't have guessed the boy to be much older than himself, and of all of them he looked the least concerned with what was going on.

"We've already been accepted, and initiated," continued the boy, not even looking at Tsubaki but rather off to one side, "we don't need to go through this pointless hazing ritual to become ANBU. We already are."

"Yeah, but you won't be considered _real_ ANBU by the _insiders_ unless you hunt," Tsubaki told him, her tone softening ever so slightly, "plus, you could win bragging rights. Not that _you_ need them, Itachi-kun."

Itachi? That sounded familiar. Naruto wracked his brains, trying to remember any mention of the name. Black hair and eyes . . . of course! The stupid teacher's pet, Sasuke, almost never shut up about his oh so talented "Itachi-nii-san"! He looked the boy over, taking in the person that had been praised as being so talented he could defeat anybody, and cooler than any other relative that could be mentioned by another student. Naruto took a moment to wonder idly if Sasuke knew his precious older brother would be willing to hunt and kill a child his age.

"Anyway," Tsubaki continued, turning her attention back to the congregation, "the hunt will last until sun up. I don't care how you do it, or what you do to the brat. Kill him if you have to, or just want to, just get the tag. Just to be fair, we give the prey a few weapons," she threw a rather light weight weapons pouch at Naruto, "and a ten minute head start."

She turned back to Naruto, the sadistic gleam in her eyes making him shiver as she licked her lips. Naruto didn't dare move. He didn't want to waste his head start, but the idea of pissing her off by starting too early was even less appealing. She grinned down at him.

"I'd run, if I were you brat."

Naruto didn't need telling twice. Jumping to his feet he took off through a gap in the circle, running as fast as his short legs would carry him away from that gang of psychos.

"Alright everybody," said Tsubaki, the moment Naruto rounded a corner and was out of sight, "get ready."

"What about the ten minutes?" Itachi asked, giving Tsubaki an odd look.

Tsubaki shrugged. "Ten minutes, ten seconds, I've never been very good at math." She grinned, showing teeth, then stuck out her arm and brought it down swiftly through the air.

"Let the hunt begin!"


	2. Look Where You're Going

**Chapter 2: Look Where You're Going**

Naruto twisted his way through the maze of run down, abandoned buildings. He'd seen a red and white fan symbol, the same one Sasuke wore on the back of his shirt, splashed across several walls, so he guessed this was an abandoned district or compound that had once belonged to the family. Stopping once he was out of breath, he ducked through a sizable hole in a wall and into one of the buildings.

Looking around, he found himself in a derelict bathroom, containing a filthy tub, a grimy toilet, and a rusty sink beneath a cracked and spotted mirror. Pushing an old wooden box beneath the sink he climbed on top of it to examine his reflection. He was pale as death, his expression frightened, blood dripping from the wound in his ear. He touched the tag, wondering what to do about it. He could leave it in, but what if they caught him with it? He was sure that if one of those ninja caught him they wouldn't pull it out through the hole, they would probably just grab it and tug, ripping open his ear. He shuddered at the thought, wondering if he should take it out. He eventually discarded that idea. What if they caught him with it was a bad thought, but then again, what if they caught him without it?

Naruto jumped down from the box and set about examining the contents of the pouch Tsubaki had given him. There was one kunai, dull, and a few shuriken that look rather factory-reject. Somehow he suspected that the five or six paper bombs were duds. He scoffed; should have known they wouldn't give him anything really useful.

Still, deciding not to waste resources he attached the pouch to his hip. He squared his shoulders and, trying his best not to make any noise, set off through the ruins of the building to find another exit. It wouldn't do to just hide, the dogs he'd seen were probably trackers, and anyway he didn't think they'd all just go home when the sun came up. If day came and they hadn't found him yet, most likely they would blow the whole place up before leaving him in there alive. No, his best bet was to try and get out of the complex before sunrise, and before being caught. Then he could find his way back to the village and get to his apartment, where at least he could lock the door and be somewhat safe. He doubted there would be any point in trying to tell someone about this if he did manage to make it out alive, and he knew perfectly well nobody would care he was here enough to send a rescue if they knew. He was on his own, and he just wanted to get home in one piece.

Coming out what might have been the front door he found himself at a cross between two streets, a large open space with buildings at each corner and a packed dirt road to each side. He looked around, surveying the junk lying about, looking for something he could use.

"Well that was easy."

Naruto jumped and spun around. Behind him, not ten feet away, stood the blond woman and her two male comrades. The one with the pony tail that looked like Shikamaru discarded a cigarette, tossing it to the ground between himself and Naruto and not bother to stamp out the still glowing ember.

Naruto turned to run, but before he could move there came a cry from behind him. "Ninja Art: Shadow Possession!" He tried to lift his foot, but it stuck to the ground. He turned back to face the three before him, unable to move any more than that.

"Oi, Cho," said the blond woman, turning to her larger companion, "get the tag."

"Bring him here, Shika," grunted the heavier man, taking a step forward, "why don't I just crush him first and we can get it off the body. You know Tsubaki-taicho will just get annoyed if we leave him alive."

Naruto's heart pounded. He looked desperately left and right, his eyes darting over piles of rubbish, looking for something, _anything_, that he could use to get himself out of this. His eyes fell on the cigarette, still glowing dimly in the darkness of the night, the only other source of light besides the full moon overhead. Not far from it there was a rusty metal container shaped like a squished cylinder. He struggled to read the label; Turpentine.

The man who had cast his shadow to trap Naruto adjusted his hands, making a few new seals. Now, without his captor having to move an inch, Naruto began to walk slowly forward. He fixed his eyes on the can, tensing the muscles in his leg as he edged nearer to it. The woman laughed as her pudgy teammate began making signs, one hand slowly expanding to be far bigger than the rest of him. "Partial Expansion Jutsu!"

His left foot was only a few inches from the can. He gritted his teeth, willing his muscles to obey. He stepped forward, first with the right, then with the left. As he lifted his shoe off the ground he let out a grunt of effort, releasing his tense muscles as he tried desperately to kick the can onto its side. His foot went out of its way by barely an inch, but it was enough. It connected with the can, tipping it over and spilling its contents onto the still glowing cigarette butt.

First sprang up at Naruto's feet! The enormous hand hovering over him caught the flame, and its owner swore as he drew back his burnt hand. The fire broke the shadow the other had stretched out ensnare Naruto, releasing its hold. Not wasting a second, Naruto turned around and took off down the opposite street, running as fast as he could away from the fire and the shouts of "Damn demon!" emanating from the trio behind him.

Naruto wove in between buildings, taking as many alleys and side streets as he could. When at last he could no longer hear the yelling off his pursuers or smell the fire he fell to his knees, panting, again looking around trying to get his barrings.

"I really need to start looking where I'm going," he panted to himself.

"Yeah, you really do."

Naruto groaned. He looked up, only to find himself in another cross-ways. The difference was, this one had only three streets, the one he'd come from, the one before him, and the one to his left. Glancing to the side he saw that the left street was blocked by a wall that had fallen down into the road, leaving only the way before him and the way behind. In front of him stood the wild-looking woman from before, a large dog on either side of her, and he could hear behind him the sounds he presumed to be the three others closing in. The two dogs before him growled, showing their teeth, and began to stalk slowly forward.

Naruto gulped.

"Don't kill him yet," ordered the woman. Naruto noticed that one pocket of her coat was wriggling, and as he watched she reached inside and pulled out a small white puppy, a spiked collar around his neck. Naruto blinked. The thing couldn't have been more than a few weeks old, but as its mistress placed it on the ground it growled at him, showing barely formed teeth. Its fur, Naruto noticed, was white all over, except for the tufts sticking out from under its collar, which were bristly and brown. Naruto stared. That didn't look normal.

"Akamaru here is supposed to be given to our clan leader's son tomorrow," the woman explained, an amused expression on her face as she watched the dog. "Supposedly he's a bit of a slacker, so I figure we'll give him a partner that's already a killer. Akamaru, attack!"

The dog, Akamaru, growled, baring its sharp little teeth and charged at Naruto, barking the whole way. Naruto wasn't sure what to do. He was sure he wouldn't be allowed to dodge as the two bigger dogs flanked the small white one, and yet Naruto was not sure that he wanted to. This dog was little more than a puppy, he didn't seem to want to be here at all. He'd been brought here in someone's pocket, just like Naruto had been brought in a cloth sack, and suddenly, just as the dog jumped and launched itself at him, Naruto realized what the bristly brown fur beneath the dog's collar was. Blood.

On instinct, Naruto reached out his hands in front of himself as the dog flew up at him. However, as it's jumped carried it into his immediate range he felt his hands closing, and the next thing he knew he was holding the little thing at arm's length. Not that it seemed to mind, it barked rather happily and wagged its tail. Naruto blinked, stunned into silence.

"Grrr!" the woman growled, frustrated, "Useless little mutt! Get him!"

Now the two bigger dogs were closing in, and Naruto was willing to bet they wouldn't be so easily disarmed. He couldn't go forward and he couldn't go back, so he did the only thing he could do, dart to the left and, tucking the dog under his arm, scramble over as much rubble as was necessary to get into the building.

Naruto was a fast runner, but he wasn't willing to race two large, blood-thirsty looking dogs. He bolted out the other end of the building and, darting down a narrow alley, he looked along the walls for a way to go the only other direction he could think of that the dogs couldn't; up.

Thankfully Naruto had noticed fire escapes on a few of the buildings, so as he ran down the alley soon enough he came to one, rusty but still resolutely clinging to the stone wall. Jumping up on an old trashcan, still holding the dog, he leaped up and grabbed the ladder, pulling it down enough to clamber up it onto the first landing. Here he sat down quickly, letting to dog escape his grasp, and took off his shoes. He could hear the dogs barking just beyond the mouth of the alley, so he quickly tied the straps together and threw them as hard as he could in the direction he'd been running. He knew dogs had a good sense of smell, and he shoes stank with the stench of his feet, so he quickly turned to the window by the fire escape for something to hide his sent. A pair of yellowed, moth-eaten curtains were hanging in the window, and as he put the fabric to his nose he cringed; they were rank. Perfect. He tore them down and wrapped himself and the dog in them, covering himself just as the dogs came barreling into the alley, their mistress in hot pursuit.

Naruto held his breath as they passed under the fire escape, but thankfully they didn't stop. Instead the ran all the way past, barking like mad, to where his shoes had landed. The sniffed his sandals and then whined, not understanding why the sent ended there.

The woman growled again. "Fan out!" she ordered, she and each of her companions taking off in a different direction, and after a moment Naruto pulled the smelly curtains off himself and looked around. The alley, thankfully, was deserted, and tossing the curtains inside the building he sat down cross-legged to examine the dog in his lap.

"She's mean, isn't she?" he asked it, earning a whine. "You don't like her either, do you boy?" he asked, scratching the dog behind its ear. It yipped and licked his hand, but flinched when he touched the collar.

"And you don't like this thing even more," Naruto mused, gingerly touching one of the spikes. Akamaru whined again, nosing at Naruto's hand. Careful not to jostle it, Naruto undid the buckle that held the collar in place, pulling it slowly off the puppy.

He grimaced at what he saw. Not only was the collar spiked on the outside, but tiny, sharper spikes lined the inside of the collar as well. They had been digging into the dog's flesh, making him bleed and staining his white fur red, and then brown as the blood dried.

"That's terrible!" Naruto whispered, not daring to be too loud. He threw the collar down into the street, disgusted. "What kind of owner would do that to their pet, huh?"

Akamaru whined again, licking at his bloody fur. "I need to get you to a vet," Naruto mused, "you know, once I get back to the village. But first I need to get rid of your lousy master."

Looking down at the quivering puppy in his lap, a thought struck Naruto. He frowned, trying to remember what the woman had said about the dog. He was supposed to be given to someone important in a day's time. That made him valuable.

"Hey, Akamaru," he said, picking up the dog and holding it at eye level, "you wanna help me get back at that lousy owner of yours?"

Akamaru yipped his consent.


	3. The Water Trap

**Author's Note:** Yes I stole this from The Astronaut's Wife. Everybody knows I own nothing. Thanks to Fenrir and Kazuo for reviewing. Enjoy!

**Chapter 3: The Water Trap**

The room was perfect for his idea. The house appeared to have been literally cut in half diagonally, exposing the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom to the elements. He didn't go too far to find it, he didn't dare stray to far from his original position, figuring they'd come back here to the last place they'd seen him. Naruto went immediately to the sink, and was delighted to find that not only was it shallow and clogged, but the tap still worked. He turned it on full blast, then set about finding away to get upstairs.

There wasn't much by way of appliances left in the house, but he did manage to dig an old toaster out of a pile of junk. Setting this on its side on the floor, careful to let the water already spilling from the sink slosh into it and dampen the interior, he tied the plug to an old wooden kitchen chair he'd set in the middle of the floor. Akamaru, seeming to sense that the water on the floor was not a good thing, staying put on the counter where Naruto had left him, nosing interestedly at the old dishes stacked around him. Naruto had to move him only once, to look in all the drawer in the kitchen for the last thing he needed. For a few moments he thought he might have to move the chair over to the plug, but at last he found what he was looking for, an extension cord. The lights worked, miraculously, so he could assume that the complex probably had its own power system that was thankfully still going. Plugging in the extension cord and taking up the plug from the toaster, he picked up Akamaru and went to sit in the chair, the dog in his lap and his feet dangling in the water, waiting for them to return.

He didn't have to wait long. After only a few minutes he heard the barking of dogs and the sound of running feet. Akamaru whined, afraid, but Naruto whispered for him to be quiet, running a comforting hand along his back hushing him gently. He stared off into space, running over the plan in his mind and letting the sound of running water sooth him.

"This way!" called someone outside, making both boy and dog flinch, but neither of them moved. For this to work they needed to be found. A small, pitiful wall was all that stopped the kitchen from being right outside, but a great gap in the space between where the kitchen wall ended and it began made for easy entry.

This was where the four of them entered.

"Brat!" growled the woman, the three males filing in behind her, "get him!"

"Ah ah ah!" Naruto cautioned, holding up the two ends of wire in his hands, "don't come any closer!"

"Or what?" the woman snapped, eyeing the toaster and the water on the floor,"you'll make some toast?"

"I'll fry myself," Naruto told her, his tone as hard and as brave as he could make it, "and your leader's puppy along with me! You too, if you get too close!"

That gave the four of them pause. Naruto watched as the woman's eyes took in the toaster, the water, the two ends of wire in Naruto's hands, his feet in the water, and Akamaru in his lap. She was quiet a moment, thinking, weighing her options, but at the same time telling Naruto all he needed to know. The dog was indeed of value to her. She wouldn't do anything to put him in danger.

"You won't do it!" she challenged, taking a step forward but not daring to touch the water. "What would be the point, if you kill yourself?!"

"Is it really any worse than what you're going to do to me?!" Naruto called back, fighting to keep his voice from breaking.

"So what's your plan then?" the woman scoffed, her eyes darting left and right as she tried to find a way to get to him without stepping in the water. She wasn't stupid, she knew the behavior of a cornered animal when she saw it.

"So, you're just gonna sit there all night?" the woman continued, taunting him, "You're just gonna wait for me to find a way to shut the power off or get around the water? Is that your lousy plan?!"

"No." said Naruto simply.

That was when the water fell.

The water from the sink and bathtub upstairs at last began to pour over the edge of the ruined floor. Being that the woman, her three comrades and all their dogs were standing directly underneath it, it wasn't a surprise that they all got drenched and suddenly found themselves standing and soaked in the water. Before they realized just where they were standing, however, Naruto jerked his feet out of the water, and plugged in the toaster.

There was an awful buzzing and screaming, the smell of burning hair and charred flesh quickly permeating the room. Naruto held the quivering Akamaru tightly to his chest, His whole body scrunched up on the chair, waiting for the noise to die down.

When at last it did he unplugged the toaster and tossed the now harmless wires to the floor. Testing the water first with his toe, he found it to be safe and stepped down off the chair, Akamaru still clutched in his arms, to survey the room.

The four ANBU, and their dogs, were lying in the water. None of them were moving, but all of them were smoking slightly and sending off a smell of burnt meat and hair. Naruto went and turned off the tap, setting Akamaru down in the water, which was still streaming gently from upstairs, and then turned back to the four ninja on the floor. They looked dead. That didn't mean they were dead. At last he worked up the courage to tiptoe up to the leader and, bending down, he felt for a pulse. He found one, but it was weak, and he decided that if she wasn't dead, she was certainly incapacitated. He turned to simply leave them there, then a thought struck him. Bending down again, he extracted her weapons' pouch from her smoking body and peered inside. Plenty of kunai and shuriken,all sharp, and far more promising looking paper bombs. He discarded the pouch Tsubaki had given him and attached the new one, going to each of the other three and taking as many weapons as he could fit into it. He could only fit three more kunai and seven more shuriken, but he shoved some more in his pockets and took all the paper bombs, not wanting to waste a single one. He also found a lighter in the pocket of one of the men, and kept that as well.

Akamaru yipped happily, playing in the shallow water, and Naruto laughed. Standing up again he picked up the dog, then clambered on top of the dry counter.

"You know, Akamaru," Naruto said, scratching behind the dog's ears absently, "I think . . . it may be Kiba, that they're giving you to."

Akamaru gave him a worried look and whined nervously, as though to ask who that was, but Naruto shook his head.

"Nah, he's not bad. Not yet at least. I think those goons might be relatives of his, though. I hope he doesn't turn out like them."

Akamaru nodded vigorously in agreement, nosing at his hand when Naruto tried to stop petting him. Naruto laughed again and went back to scratching the dog's ears.

"Those marks on their cheeks, they look like the ones he has," he continued, staring off into space, "and they're not the only ones either. I saw people that look like my other friends, Shikamaru and Choji, from school. Do you think they could be members of their families? Do you think that . . . maybe they're the same?"

Akamaru whined as if to say he didn't know.

"You know I can't keep you, right?" Naruto asked suddenly, lifting the dog up to his eye level.

Akamaru whined and yipped as if in protest, though if it was to the way he was being held or the suggestion, or both, Naruto couldn't tell. He sighed, setting the dog in his lap again.

"I need to get you to a vet," he sighed wearily, "and then back to Kiba. You're gonna be his dog now, I suppose." He looked down at Akamaru again. "You know, if you're a good dog," Naruto told him, frowning thoughtfully,"maybe he'll be a good master. Maybe he won't turn out to be cruel like her, even if she is his family. Maybe, if you two are good friends, then he'll be ok."

Akamaru seemed to take a moment to consider this, then barked happily as if to say that seemed like sound logic to him. Naruto smiled.

"Hey!" he said after a moment, "You came here with her, didn't you!?"

Akamaru yipped the affirmative.

"Then, do you know the way back?" Naruto asked curiously, "Can you get us out of here, boy?"

Akamaru barked again, wagging his tail. He jumped down off the counter, Naruto right behind him, and went out to the street. He sniffed the air a little getting his bearings, then turned back to Naruto and barked. _Follow me!_

Naruto couldn't contain his grin as he took off down the street after Akamaru. It was over! Soon he'd be at home, safe in bed with his door locked and a cup of instant ramen in the microwave. He thought he might have had a cup of his favorite kind in the back of the cabinet, miso with little bits of fish cake all mixed in with the . . .

BANG!


	4. Pest Control

**Chapter 4: Pest Control**

BANG!

The wall to Naruto's left exploded, knocking him backwards a few paces. Scrambling backwards on his hands he faced the person stepping out of the building to his left, the pale eyed man who had held him still as Tsubaki had placed her tag. Behind him, standing in the newly formed hole in the wall, was a man in an enormous coat that obscured most of his features, the only discernible thing about him being his dark, glinting sunglasses. The street in front of Naruto had been filled with rubble, and for one horrible moment he thought Akamaru might have been crushed beneath it. However, in the next moment he heard the dog barking loudly, jumping on the other side of the mound of debris as he tried to get Naruto's attention.

"Run!" Naruto called to the dog, who didn't move an inch. Naruto shook his head, blinking back tears. "I said run!" he repeated, waving Akamaru in the other direction with one hand. "Get out of here, go on, just run away!"

Akamaru whined, hesitating, then turned around and bolted off in the opposite direction. Naruto checked the sky. Akamaru was running in the same direction that the moon was setting, the same direction he would have to go if he wanted to get home.

"You'd do well to worry about yourself instead of your dog, brat," said the man before him calmly, stepping over the pile of rubble to walk leisurely towards Naruto. Naruto continued to scuttle backwards, and the man laughed lightly. "Don't bother getting up," he said, as though they were at some social event and Naruto had offered to get him a drink, "there's really no need. We'll just take the tag and be on our way, and the next squad that finds you can kill you when they see that you don't have it. There's no point in us doing it, when there are so many others who want to just for fun."

That plan didn't appeal to Naruto in the slightest. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out one of the kunai he couldn't fit in the pouch, attaching a paper bomb quickly and hurling it at the man approaching him. The ANBU, however, just quirked an eyebrow, and with a wave of a hand it exploded harmlessly five feet over his head.

"Oh come on now," said the pale eyed ninja disapprovingly, shaking his head, "there's no need to get snippy. We won't hurt you, we just want the tag. I'll be gentle, promise," the man grinned wickedly, giving Naruto the distinct impression that he had no intention of being gentle.

"It was your comment about the next squad to find him," droned the other, speaking for the first time, "you've gone and spooked him now."

"He's spooked just by being here," argued his partner, never taking his eyes from the still retreating Naruto. "I thought he might understand the logic of why we don't want to hurt him, that's all. I thought it might make him feel better about trusting us."

"What makes you think he can understand logic of any kind?" the second one questioned, still not moving as the first continued to walk calmly towards their quarry. Naruto glanced over at him, to see little black bugs exiting from his sleeves, giving him the rather creepy look of a walking corpse shedding grave bugs. "He's a demon, after all, and a child to boot. Who knows how low his intelligence level is?"

"Oh well, I suppose there's no use arguing it now," sighed the first one, pulling a kunai from nowhere and twirling it playfully around his finger, "he's certainly on to us by this time, we may as well kill him."

Naruto scrambled for another kunai and paper bomb, wrapping it around the hilt and throwing it as hard as he could. It struck a wall and stuck there, making the pale-eyed man laugh.

"Who was that aimed for?" he asked, amused.

"Not you," Naruto told him.

Suddenly the bomb exploded, taking a good chunk of the wall with it. Dust and bits of building material flew in every direction, momentarily distracting the two ANBU, and Naruto leaped to his feet and took off running, not looking back to see if they were following him but fairly sure that they were. He didn't waste time trying to run too far, he found a small, sturdy looking house, once a bunker perhaps, and darted inside, closing the heavy door behind him. He could still hear insects buzzing outside, and he was willing to bet those things were going to sell him out. They might not have been dogs, but they had eyes, and he could guess by how the ANBU ninja directed them that they could and would report back to him.

The house, he decided, probably had been a bunker at one point, though for what he couldn't guess. It was small, a number of supply crates stacked about, but a large trap door in the middle of the floor dominated the space. Shifting the heavy lock on the front door into place he hauled up the metal trap door and descended into the room below. Truthfully it wasn't much bigger than the room above, boxes rather than crates lining the walls and an ancient bed on the far wall suggesting that in the end this place had been used for storage. There was a deep, grimy looking sink in one corner, but no other sign that this place was fit for human habitation besides the dim light above and the thick wool blanket on the bed.

Naruto pulled the trap door closed behind him and started hunting through the boxes. Most of it was useless, make-up, old clothes, journals in stacks, office supplies and two boxes full of plushy toys. One box, stacked on top of the others and standing open, was even full of unused bug spray. Naruto glanced at the label.

**CAUTION: FLAMMABLE, KEEP AWAY FROM OPEN FLAME**

Naruto grinned.

A few minutes later he heard a voice that sounded like the paled-eyed man calling "Down here!" somewhere above him as he put the last can into place. Covering his mouth and nose with his shirt he got the blanket from the sink and tossed it onto the bed, crawling under it with some difficulty just as the trapdoor came open.

Like before the two ANBU were unhurried, climbing carefully down into the lower room, taking their time so as not to trip on the ladder, shutting the door behind themselves and looking leisurely around the room. The one with pale eyes, the first one Naruto had seen, wrinkled his nose, noticing that the air smelled of chemicals. Following the soft hissing sound that reached his ears he picked up a can with its sprayer taped down. He showed it to his companion, snickering.

"He thinks he can defeat your insects with bug spray, Aburame-san," he laughed, taking the tape of the now mostly empty can and tossing it aside. "Just how weak does he think we are?"

"Weak enough," said Naruto from beneath his drenched blanket, catching their attention at last. Before they could react, however, he flicked the lighter and tossed out into the room.

Naruto felt the heat beneath the blanket he'd soaked in the sink to make it flame proof. He heard the two ANBU screaming as all the bug spray he'd pumped into the room caught fire at once, the roar of the fire as it consumed all the flammable gas, and then the sound of two bodies thudding to the floor. When at last all was quiet he threw off the blanket to survey the damage. Everything in the room was scorched or singed, including the blanket and two cocky ninja that were now unconscious. They were a sight; clothes singed and still burning in places, blackened patches of skin oozing blood, both of them lying motionless on the floor. Again Naruto forced himself to bend over the first one he'd spoken to, pale-eyes, and feel for a pulse. Again, he found one, but it was still obvious that they were in a bad way, and probably wouldn't be moving for some time. He replaced the two kunai and gathered up some more paper bombs, then felt around in their pockets for anything useful. Oddly enough he found a sizable chunk of money in pale-eyes' pocket, a resource he hadn't found on any of the others, and which he took for himself also. He left the trapdoor and the front door open, just in case someone came looking for them.

That made six ANBU he'd taken out now. Counting Tsubaki and Itachi, who had yet to attack him, there had been eleven. That meant he was halfway done. He took out his sizable stack of paper bombs and began counting, already working on his next plan.

**Author's Note:** Oooh, what is our clever little Naruto-kun planning next, hun? Read, review, find out! I take great pride in the fact that I came up with this trap all by myself. Hehe, I'm evil.


	5. Endgame

**Author's Note: **Thankies to those who reviewed, all one of you (Anionbde!), and here's the last chapter of my story. Sit back and enjoy as Naruto demolishes three more ninja five times his age and experience with nothing more than some stolen supplies and little bit of ordinary junk. I firmly maintain that he so could have done this at this age is the anime, I mean there had to be some villagers who took their anger too far, and he must have had to defend himself at least once or twice. Yeah I know I made the little ninja pouches out not to hold as much as they do in the anime, but come on, those things are tiny, there's no way they fit nearly as many things as people pull out of them.

**Chapter 5: Endgame**

Darkness shrouded the alley and everything in it. That was why Naruto had picked it really, but as he surveyed it he really was quite impressed with how well it hid his trap. The walls were barely discernible, all you could really see standing at the mouth of it was a swath of the ground, littered with junk, and the far wall, where a fire escape led up to the roof of the building that closed off this street, making it a dead end. Going back to the six fallen ANBU, ninja wire had been easy to find, and he already had plenty of kunai and paper bombs. He hadn't had to search long for the alley, and as he stood, halfway between the mouth and the back wall, looking out onto the adjacent street, he had time to stop and consider the ethics of what he was about to do.

He really didn't know who would show up first. He was hoping for the three that had attacked him originally, but if it were Tsubaki or Itachi he had decided his plan wouldn't change. He was still going to go through with this trap, no matter who he would be catching in it. However, that presented a slight problem; a qualm in his conscience. Should he be doing this? Was it right to be luring people, humans reminded himself, into a trap like this? The two traps he had already sprung had been self defense, but this one was planned ahead of time, without the immediate threat of someone chasing him. He knew none of his tormentors would hesitate to do it, but he wasn't them. Besides, there was also the matter of whether or not they really deserved this. He didn't really deserve his current situation either, but that didn't mean that all the ANBU in the area were so at fault that they deserved to die. The original three had attacked him once and threatened to kill him, and Tsubaki was the one that had brought him here, but Itachi had yet to attack or threaten him. True he hadn't seemed overly concerned with the fact that his companions were about to hunt and kill a child, but of all the ANBU Itachi was the only one who had never threatened him. What if he came? Should Naruto really spring a trap that might well kill him? Could he?

Naruto shook his head, trying to clear it of doubts. He needed to do this. If he just walked blindly toward the setting moon he was almost sure to be attacked again, and maybe next time he wouldn't be so lucky. He had to take out as many threats as he could. He couldn't just walk around hoping to stay out of their paths, that plan had almost gotten him killed three times now. He wrapped a paper bomb around the hilt of a kunai, then threw it up into the air. It exploded high above him, forcing his eyes back to the mouth of the alley as he waited for someone to come. Only those interested in killing him would answer a signal like that, he told himself. It was a challenge. The three ninja from before would be the ones to answer it.

"Whatcha lookin' at, little brat," came a voice from behind him. Naruto spun around and swore under his breath. He might have guessed they would come behind him, between him and the trigger for his trap. It was the three from before, the blond and her two friends that looked like Shikamaru and Choji. They stood between him and the fire escape, and his eyes darted about frantically, looking for a way past them.

The blond laughed. "Who would have thought after all this time nobody else has found him!" Her eyes glinted in the dark as she fixed him with a malicious stare. "Hello again demon brat, we've been looking everywhere for you."

Naruto grabbed as many shuriken as he could hold in both his hands, maybe a dozen in all, and hurled them at his opponents. Most of them flew off in random directions, missing their targets entirely, and the rest were blocked by the Shikamaru lookalike's kunai.

"How pathetic," he snickered, "the little brat can't even throw shuriken properly. It's a wonder he's survived this long."

"Shall we put him out of his misery?" the blond simpered, laughing lightly into her hand. Both her companions laughed as well, and Naruto saw dark ponytail's hand coming together, no doubt to form the same hand sign as earlier.

Not about to stay still and be caught again, Naruto took off running, aiming for the space to the left of the ninja who resembled Choji, ignoring the cries of "Get him!" as he made a mad dash for the fire escape. As he ran he pulled out three kunai, leaving only two in the pouch now, and hurled them at his three attackers. Obviously none of them hit their targets, since he didn't see them as he was blocked by an enormous hand and turned to find himself cornered against the left wall of the alley.

"You're quick," joked the blond, looking sour, "but you're getting on my nerves. You've wasted too much of my night already. Cho, crush him!"

The giant hand reached up, looming over Naruto as he stared up at it. He shoved his hand into the pouch and pulled out the rest of the shuriken, hurling them upward. Thankfully this target was too big to miss, and again the hand was pulled back, the injured ANBU growling in pain.

"Weakling!" shrieked the blond, "He's only a child! Get him! Stop him! Crush him!"

Taking advantage of her hysterics Naruto darted again for the fire escape. His feet pounded the packed earth of the street as he heard a kunai whistle by right next to his ear. Suddenly his foot caught a pile of old kitchen appliances and he went sprawling.

"Shika!" the blond cried, "Get him, now! Stop him!"

Naruto leaped to his feet, narrowly avoiding the shadow that was cast his way. He could almost sense it coming along behind him as he ran, but before it could reach him he leaped up onto the ladder to the first landing. He scrambled up and sprang to the next ladder.

"You idiots!" screamed the blond, furious now, stamping her foot, "This is not hard! He's just one little brat now GET HIM!"

"Shut up Ino!" barked the chubby one, still nursing his bleeding hand, "you're not doing a damn thing!"

"Fine!" she snapped, "I'll do it myself!"

She turned, to find Naruto now on the uppermost fire escape landing, looking down on them with a single kunai in one hand. "What do you think you're doing up there, you filthy little insect!"

"Winning," said Naruto simply. Then he reached out and cut the piece of ninja wire strung out over the alley.

Of course, this triggered the fifty-some paper bombs he'd stuck to the walls to all go off at once.

The explosion was deafening. A great boom and roar filled Naruto's ears as the two walls on either side of the dead end street collapsed, filling it with a few feet of debris at the shallowest point. Naruto was thrown clear backwards, a few bits of rubble and stone marring his skin as he landed on the rooftop, rolled a few feet, and then came to a stop, panting, on his stomach.

When the sounds of deconstruction left the air Naruto lifted his head, looking at the edge of the rooftop. Miraculously enough it was still intact, but the two buildings behind it to either side were practically nonexistent. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the thought that he might have used too many paper bombs.

"Do you suppose you overdid it a bit, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto practically flipped over in his haste to look behind himself. What he saw, of all the things he'd seen tonight, made him want to cry the most of all. He was crouching on the ground, his limbs out behind himself supporting him on the cold rooftop. He was bleeding from several cuts, singed from all the explosions, his feet were wet and bare since he hadn't retrieved his shoes, and he was utterly exhausted. He reached into the pouch at his hip, to find a single, solitary kunai, which he none the less held out defensively in front of himself, his eyes wide and watery as he took in the sight before him.

Itachi Uchiha was standing on the rooftop, looking perfectly awake, alert, in perfect health and, if the katana sheathed on his back was any indication, well armed.

He began to walk toward Naruto, his long hair fluttering in the slight wind. Like the pale-eyed ANBU he was unhurried, walking calmly and leisurely forward as though he weren't at all concerned with his destination. Naruto scrambled backwards on his hands, forgetting the kunai for a moment and simply dragging it along the ground as he shuffled backwards, but when he hit the edge of the roof he stopped and put his only weapon out in front of himself again. He pressed his lips together, whimpering softly as he fought the urge to scream out loud. It wasn't fair! He'd come this far, defeated nine ANBU out of eleven, only to be caught, unawares and without weapons or strength left to fight, by the deadliest of them all. Itachi crouched in front of him and he turned his head to the side, squeezing his eyes shut tight so as not to let the tears spill out.

Itachi gripped Naruto's chin, turning his head to the other side. Naruto's eyes sprang open as he realized the tag was now exposed to Itachi. Would he tear it out? Was that why he'd come? Naruto gritted his teeth, waiting for the pain as the tag was torn from his ear. He felt the cold hands on his earlobe, grasping the fishhook. Suddenly there was a small snap, and Naruto saw the point of the hook, with its two sharp points that stuck out in the opposite direction, making an arrow, fly past him and clink against the hard rooftop. It occurred to him that even if he had pulled it out the way it had gone in, he still would have poked himself with the two opposite ends. Now as Itachi worked the hook from his earlobe the only pain he felt was the seal of dried blood being broken, sending fresh drops down onto his shoulder.

Itachi pocketed the tag. "Hold still," he said simply, as he reached behind himself and pulled out, seemingly from nowhere, a first aid kit.

Naruto blinked, confused.

Itachi placed a cotton ball at the mouth of a bottle of rubbing alcohol, then upended it for a second, letting the disinfectant soak the cotton before righting the bottle and bringing the now drenched bit of fluff to Naruto's ear. Naruto didn't dare move as Itachi cleaned off the dried blood, merely wincing at the sting but not letting his head move in the slightest. Before the blood could start flowing again Itachi pulled out two compresses and placed them on either side of Naruto's earlobe.

"Why are you . . . helping me?" Naruto asked tentatively as Itachi fished around in the first aid box again and came up with what looked like a large metal clip.

The ANBU didn't answer for a moment, instead pulling apart the piece of metal and placing it over Naruto's ear, firmly clipping the two bandages in place. Then he stilled, looking down at the boy in front of him.

"I have a younger brother your age," he said at last.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, not sure how to respond, "I've met him."

Itachi looked at Naruto for another long moment, his eyes totally unreadable. "Let's just say he's given me something of a soft spot for little kids," he explained simply. "Besides, you remind me of him, a little. You're a survivor, and I like to think he is too."

A thought struck Naruto. "Have you been . . . have you been watching, this whole time?" he asked.

One corner of Itachi's mouth quirked in a slight smile. "Yes, I've been watching you, Naruto-kun." His smile grew a fraction of an inch when Naruto's eyes widened. "I was surprised," he told the child, "you didn't need my help once."

"You . . . you would've helped me?" asked Naruto, his voice and eyes full of wonder.

Itachi let out a small, sharp exhalation that might, might, have been a slight laugh. "Yes, I would have," he replied, "but you didn't need it. You dealt with your situation admirably. You were able to quickly assess and deal with each new threat as it came. You kept a clear head through situations that would have had most people panicking, and indeed thrived in them. You set sophisticated, well planned traps that caught nine ANBU level ninja, and you were able to tell enemies from allies very well, all while under severe stress. That's jonin level stuff, you know."

He placed his hand atop Naruto's head, threading his fingers through the yellow hair. "I'm impressed."

Naruto looked up at him in complete wonder and amazement. Never in his life had anybody said anything like that to him. He opened his mouth to say thank you, but somehow the words just stuck in his throat.

Suddenly Itachi's ever-so-slight smile vanished as his face twisted into a sour expression. For a moment Naruto's heart leaped into his throat, terrified that he'd offended his savior, but then Itachi spoke, looking at him but not speaking to him, in a hard, cold voice.

"You on the other hand," he hissed, on his feet before Naruto had realized he'd moved, his sword stuck straight through the heart of the woman before him, "I have no sympathy for whatsoever."

Tsubaki, who unbeknownst to Naruto had come up beside them as they spoke, gave Itachi a startled, hurt look as she was leaned backwards over the edge of the rooftop. Itachi spoke again, his sword slowly sliding out of Tsubaki's chest. "It takes 15-20 seconds for a person to die after their heart has been damaged," he recited, "and since that time's almost up, let me take this opportunity to say that I hope you rot in hell."

Tsubaki fell backwards as though in slow motion. Naruto's thoughts raced as he watched her fall, the night's events flashing before his eyes as he looked at her frightened, surprised face.

The blond, like Ino.

The dark ponytail, like Shikamaru.

The chubby one, like Choji.

The dog woman, like Kiba.

Pale-eyes, like Hinata.

And at last he realized it, the final similarity, gazing into her green eyes.

Tsubaki . . . like Sakura-chan.

Once Itachi's sword was freed Tsubaki fell quickly. Naruto heard the whistling of the wind as she fell, and then the sickening crunch of bones cracking as she hit the piles of debris bellow. Naruto bent his head, shuddering.

"This is a truly terrible thing for you to go through," Itachi said, coming to kneel in front of Naruto again, "a truly terrible thing for you to have to witness."

His hand in Naruto's hair pulled Naruto's face up, his eyes meeting Itachi's sharingan red ones. "Which is why you probably shouldn't remember it," he finished, just before Naruto blacked out.

Leaving Tsubaki's body, as well as the rest of the now dead ANBU, in the old abandoned compound, Itachi carried Naruto back to the village. Along the way he met Akamaru, and saw him safely home as well. After locating the boy's apartment he let himself in and placed the sleeping child in bed, then retrieved the money Naruto had taken from the Hyuuga. That went into a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, some fruit, a few vegetables and, after Itachi had inspected Naruto's cupboards to see what kind of food he liked, several cups of instant ramen. Obviously the store had not been open in the middle of the night, so Itachi had quietly broken in and left the correct amount on the counter for the owner to find in the morning. In a village full of ninja, that happened sometimes.

The food went in the kitchen and the remaining money went into Naruto's bedside table, another little surprise for him when he woke up.

Itachi sat on the bed, watching Naruto sleep for a moment. He watched the boy's chest rise and fall, his hands flung out on the pillow, his blue eyes hidden behind his eyelids, his wild yellow hair a mess, yet glowing oddly in the moonlight.

"He really does look like the Fourth Hokage." Itachi mused. And then, with that, he left.

**Author's Note:** Well this chapter was by far the longest. I hope you all liked, and I hope Itachi didn't turn out too OOC. He's hard to write. This is the most morbid story I've written, its full of pain and misery and almost everyone in it dies. Then again, almost everyone in it is evil, so . . . Anyway, I figured Itachi wouldn't want Naruto to remember a thing like that (and of course tell Sasuke that he's actually a nice guy) so I had him erase Naruto's memory (which we all know the sharingan in all its random unspecified power can do). Now then, I'm done with this piece of random insanity, and I do hope you enjoyed it.


	6. Epilogue

**Author's Note:** Ok, so I had a theme in mind when I was dreaming up this story and I think I kinda missed it. The idea was supposed to be that the next generation weren't like their parents, and could accept Naruto and be his friends despite what their families think of him. I realize now that I kinda put in all the emo and then left out the moral of the story. Sooooooooo, here it is!

**Chapter 6: Epilogue**

Naruto was having a good morning. A really good, spectacular morning. A once in a blue moon type of really good morning. Mornings like this really didn't come often in his life, and so he was thoroughly enjoying this one while it lasted. He almost didn't want to go to school, to face all those cold stares and have it ruined, but then again there was always the possibility that this wonderful morning would extend throughout his day, and that he would also have a wonderful day at school.

He had woken up from a dreamless sleep feeling incredibly well rested. Smiling contentedly at the feeling he'd yawned, stretched, and got out of bed, opening up his bedside table to put away his sleeping cap. The moment the drawer was open however he'd found, tucked neatly away inside, a large wad of cash. He'd picked it up, examining it for almost ten minutes. For the life of him he could not figure out how it had gotten there. He'd already cashed his allowance check from this month, using all but the bit of change he currently had in his wallet to pay his rent and get groceries. He thought back on those groceries, wondering what was left. Nothing he really felt like eating, except for the one remaining cup of instant ramen, which he figured he'd have for breakfast just to complete this wonderful morning. Studying the money, he grinned to himself. This was . . . this was pocket money! He had what he needed, so he was free to use _this_, however he'd come by it, to buy whatever he _wanted!_ He could go to the bookstore and buy a new manga! He could go with Choji and Shikamaru to the candy store after school! He could, and he shuddered in delight at the thought, go to Ichiraku for dinner and eat practically whatever he wanted!

He jumped out of bed and dashed to his little frog wallet, putting the money quickly inside and giggling delightedly at how fat the frog had gotten. He took the frog with him to the kitchen, reluctant to leave it alone, and set it on the counter as he looked for something to eat. He went to the fridge, wondering if he had any milk left to go with his ramen.

His jaw dropped.

Not only was there milk, there was a whole gallon of it, not to mention a large bag of vegetables, and butter, none of which he remembered buying. Turning quickly around he glanced back at the counter, to see that there was a bowl of fruit and a loaf of bread sitting there that he also did not remember. He shut the fridge and darted to the cabinet, opening it hesitantly to find . . . yes! At least a dozen cups of instant ramen! Somebody _must _like him!Gleefully he took one down, put in the water and stuck it in the microwave. He pulled out the butter, the milk and a glass, then popped two pieces of bread in the toaster. He inspected the vegetables as the timer on the microwave counted down to zero, and for good measure he pulled out the one that looked the most edible, a carrot, and set it on the table as well, forcing himself to nibble on it as he pulled out the ramen and buttered his toast. Wolfing down toast, ramen and, reluctantly, carrot, Naruto jumped up from the kitchen table, grabbed his bag and set off for school.

That was where his oh-so-wonderful morning came to an abrupt end.

Running down the road towards the school building, wondering if he was going to be late, he'd darted around a corner and suddenly heard a familiar voice calling to him from further towards the school.

"Hey, Naruto!" called Kiba, turning to wave at him. At first Naruto had simply called back to him happily, glad that the first person he'd met was a friend and not one of his cold eyed teachers, but as he approached Kiba he began to get an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was unpleasant, but he couldn't quite place it, and it wasn't until he was not five feet away from Kiba, now in full view of each other, that it really set in.

Panic.

Fear hit him like a wall as he came into range of his classmate. It jolted his whole body and sent his heart racing. He felt the hairs on the back of his head stand up, and his skin crawled as shivers started racing up and down his spine. He sucked in a shaky breath, trying to clamp down the emotion, trying to keep his panic from showing on his face. What was wrong with him? Kiba was his classmate, his friend! The sight of him should make Naruto feel fear. What was going on?

Kiba, however, seemed to notice the fear in Naruto's face anyway. He blinked, confused. "Hey, what's wrong Naruto?" he asked, frowning, "And what happened to your ear?"

"My ear?" Naruto asked, perplexed. Reaching up he felt his right ear, only to wince at the pain as he jostled what seemed to be a metal clip holding two compresses on either side of his earlobe. He hadn't noticed this earlier, nor did he have anymore idea where this had come from than the pocket money or the food. He frowned, trying to remember.

"I . . . I don't know," he whispered, dazedly wondering what the hell was going on.

Kiba looked at Naruto oddly for a moment, then shrugged. "Come on," he called, turning, "Iruka-sensei will yell at us if we're late."

The droning of Iruka's voice barely even reached Naruto's ears as he sat, frozen in his seat at the back of the class. Normally he would fidget in his chair restlessly, he'd never liked sitting still for too long, and he was almost never quiet. Now he was silent and perfectly still, almost afraid to move. Iruka kept darting him odd, concerned looks, but did not stop the lesson or ask him what was wrong. It was just as well, since he didn't have an answer. He hadn't the faintest idea why, but somehow the room seemed to be full of danger.

It hadn't stopped with Kiba. As they'd entered the classroom Shikamaru and Choji, already seated, had waved to them to come and sit together. Again, and for no apparent reason, Naruto had been struck by a sudden blind terror, more intense than before, and it'd taken all his self control not to bolt from the room and run straight home. Instead he'd shakily told them no thanks and gone to sit in the back of the room, where he could keep an eye on them and the rest of the class. They all gave him strange looks, and every once it a while Naruto's heart would leap into his throat as one turned in his seat to look at him again.

He put his head on his desk, tugging at his spiky blond hair with both hands. What was going on! Why was he suddenly petrified of all his friends! Admittedly they weren't fantastically close, he'd never told them, for instance, about all the cold looks he got from the teachers, and they didn't seem to notice. But how many times had they all broken free out the back window together? How often had they sat, just the four of the, in the training hall, hiding from the teachers as they did whatever they pleased with their stolen free time? How many days had they spent at the playground together, laughing and joking, messing around, pushing each other, and without the slightest hint of any ill intent from any of them! So why, _why_ was he suddenly afraid to even go near them?

It wasn't just them either. As he looked around the classroom from his vantage point at the back he saw other faces, seeming scattered at random, that filled him with dread. Ino, a girl he'd never even spoken to but he knew as a friend of Sakura's, suddenly seemed quite terrifying. Shino, also sitting in the back but at the other side of the room, also seemed vaguely threatening, especially when Naruto began to notice that there were bugs skittering, relentlessly and almost entirely unnoticed, across his desk. Even Hinata, a shy, timid girl whose name he barely even knew, seemed suddenly far more creepy than usual!

Something definitely weird was going on.

Free time found Naruto standing by the door of the school as all the other children flooded outside, laughing and yelling. Kiba and the others had run by without noticing him, and he supposed it was for the best, since he couldn't think of a way to explain why he didn't want to play with them. Now that they were all engaged in their own activities he began to move toward a nearby hill, where Sakura had gone to pick flowers, thankfully unaccompanied by Ino.

She didn't notice him right away. Instead he was able to drift along behind her, simply watching as she knelt in a patch of brightly colored wildflowers. She seemed almost surreally beautiful, surrounded by bright colors, her pink hair blending in perfectly with the pastel flowers. He knew this was kind of creepy, and she would either cry or call Ino to hit him if she turned around and saw him now, but somehow he could not pull his eyes away. She seemed like part of a perfect dream, totally untouched by the troubles of the world.

He wondered if she'd ever woken up with strange injuries, either wondering how she'd got them or wincing at the painful, scary memories they brought forth.

He wondered if she'd ever been really hungry, and gone to the kitchen to find there was nothing to eat.

He wondered if anyone had ever leered at her, had ever given her an icy stare, as if to say that she didn't belong and should go away.

No, he didn't think she had. She was beautiful and sweet and innocent, she fit perfectly in this beautiful world, full of sunshine and brightly colored flowers. The world was made for people like her, nice to look at with nothing unnatural about them.

She had parents to take care of her.

In that moment, as though she had sensed his thoughts, she turned around. She didn't look angry or frightened, just curious as she turned to him, locking onto his face with her large green eyes.

The force of his memories hitting him made him shoot backwards and tumble down the hill.

Everything came flooding back in a great rush, a torrent of memories that crashed through his head as his body turned over and over roughly, his feet flying over his head as he fell, end over end, down the hill. Tsubaki, the dogs, the turpentine, the toaster, the bug spray, the ANBU who looked like his classmates, the burned out bunker, the electrified waterfall, the alley full of paper bombs, the tag in his ear.

And the dying Tsubaki's green eyes.

"Naruto! Hey, Naruto! Are you ok? Naruto, wake up!"

Naruto opened his eyes, blinking hurriedly in the bright sunshine. Iruka-sensei was kneeling over him, several curious students peering over his shoulder.

His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. He had no idea what to say. His head was spinning. Images swam before his eyes. Then everything stopped. The clamoring of the children died down, the images flickered out, and everything faded into darkness.

The next thing he knew he was lying in the nurse's office. Nobody seemed to have noticed he was awake yet, so when he turned his now throbbing head he saw Iruka with his back to him, arguing with the nurse.

"He's been out of it since this morning!" Iruka insisted, gesturing with both hands. "He was so quiet I thought something must be wrong, and now he just goes and falls down that hill and passes out! There has to be something going on!"

"I've checked him over thoroughly!" insisted the nurse, a pretty brunette woman with a sour expression. "There's nothing medically wrong with him!"

"Then what happened to his ear!" Iruka demanded, obviously not giving up.

"He had that when he came in!" she retorted.

"Um," Naruto piped up softly, trying to sit up through the pain in his spinning head.

"Naruto!" Iruka cried, immediately rushing over to him and kneeling by the cot where he was sitting.

"Are you alright?" Iruka asked desperately, leaning over the cot so he could look Naruto in the eye.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Naruto muttered. He clutched at his head, closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths. After a moment the pain began to recede and the room stopped spinning, and he was able to open his eyes and face Iruka's half panicked expression.

"I'm fine," he repeated, "just, something happened."

"What happened?" Iruka asked earnestly.

Naruto hesitated. He could tell Iruka what had happened, but really, what good would it do? As far as he remembered the ANBU were all dead, so it wasn't like he had to worry about them coming after him again, and what would be the point of rehashing it all if there was no more danger? Who would care, besides Iruka, anyway? In the end he decided against it. He didn't want to talk about it.

"Just a nightmare I had," he told his teacher, trying to sound honest, "something made me remember it, that's all."

"A nightmare?" Iruka asked skeptically.

Naruto nodded, willing Iruka to buy it.

Iruka stared at him for another minute, obviously not convinced, but after a moment's consideration he seemed to decide that if Naruto didn't want to talk about it he would let it slide.

"Alright," he said, "if you feel better you can go back outside. You still have twenty minutes left in free time."

"Thanks," Naruto said, climbing off the cot. His head didn't hurt anymore and he actually felt better. Iruka nodded, and Naruto quickly darted for the door.

He wandered cautiously outside, looking about for Kiba and the others. He found them at last, playing with one of the school's nondescript balls, simply kicking it back and forth between themselves without a care in the world. He watched them for a while, standing a safe distance where he was sure they wouldn't notice him.

How could they managed to be so much like the ANBU, and yet so different at the same time? How could two people, obviously related, with such similar personalities, have such conflicting opinions about something?

How could he not be afraid of his friends, when they were so much like their relatives?

Because they weren't their relatives.

They weren't the people that had threatened him. They were the ones that liked him, accepted him, played with him, laughed with him, shared their lives with him. They were his classmates, his friends, and one day they would be his comrades. How could he think to judge them based on the actions of their families?

Suddenly Naruto let out a weak, tiny little laugh, which quickly grew in strength and volume until he was laughing out loud. A great weight seemed to lift off his chest as he laughed, and suddenly he knew, but instinct, that things would somehow be alright. Running forward, he hailed Kiba.

"Hey!" he called, waving his arms as he moved to join the circle, "Pass it here!"

"Naruto!" Kiba yelled back, beaming and kicking him the ball, "we missed you! What happened back there anyways?"

"Nothing special," Naruto laughed, kicking the ball up to bounce it on his head for a moment, "just wasn't feeling well. I feel great now though!"

"Whatever," Kiba rolled, his eyes, "pass it idiot!"

Naruto couldn't even find it in himself to yell at Kiba. He laughed and passed the ball, and while Shikamaru was catching it and passing it on he glanced back at the hill. Sakura was still sitting there, this time with Ino. The blond seemed to be explaining something about the flower she was holding, and Sakura was listening with rapt attention.

Was Sakura related to Tsubaki? Were they similar as well? Was there a danger of Sakura turning out like the ANBU captain?

Not a chance, Naruto told himself. He would never let that happen to her. He would never allow her to become so horrible, so sadistic, so pointlessly cruel. He would protect her his whole life if that was what it took to prevent that.

Naruto was abruptly knocked out of his musings by the ball hitting him in the side of the head.

"Hey moron!" Kiba jeered, "You do remember what we're doing, right?"

"Oh shut up fang-face!" Naruto yelled back, and kicked the ball as hard as he could in Kiba's general direction. Shikamaru and Choji both laughed as it sailed over Kiba's head. Naruto smiled broadly.

**Author's Note:** Well, now that that totally sappy and slightly nonsensical epilogue is over, who wants cheesecake!


End file.
